


pawsitively in love

by lesmiserablol



Series: not kitten around [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anniversary, Cat Cafés, Cats, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27163940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: Sokka’s hand moves from Zuko’s hair to pet the cat and Zuko makes a disappointed noise.Sokka laughs. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of love to go around.”“Hey, it’s our one year anniversary, I get to hog as much of your love as I want,” Zuko insists.(in which Zuko experiences an anniversary, a lot of cats, and a surprise all in one day)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: not kitten around [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982770
Comments: 82
Kudos: 527





	pawsitively in love

**Author's Note:**

> I'm the biggest cat person you will ever meet, so I could not resist doing a sequel to my first cat café fic. Enjoy!

Zuko stirs awake, feeling warm and so, so comfortable. He realizes what woke him up in the first place as he feels the fingers in his hair, playing with it idly. He smiles into Sokka’s bare chest, the arm he has around his boyfriend’s waist tightening. 

“I can practically hear you purring,” Sokka laughs, his voice rough from sleep and making Zuko smile even more. 

“Shut up,” he mutters back, his tone betraying his sappy feelings, “Can you blame me?”

“Of course not.” Sokka’s hand doesn’t move from his hair. “Don’t worry though, Momo purrs loud enough for the two of you.”

Zuko peeks his good eye open to see Aang’s cat just inches from his face, trapping Sokka’s other arm, his head resting on Sokka’s shoulder. Now that it’s been pointed out, Zuko can definitely hear the low rumbling of the cat purring.

Sokka’s hand moves from Zuko’s hair to pet the cat and Zuko makes a disappointed noise. 

Sokka laughs. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of love to go around.” 

“Hey, it’s our one year anniversary, I get to hog as much of your love as I want,” Zuko insists. He moves both of his hands to rest on Sokka’s torso and place his chin on top, making eye contact with his boyfriend. “Happy anniversary.”

“Happy anniversary,” Sokka echoes. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“I love you most.”

Zuko’s smile widens. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Believe it, baby.” Sokka grins back, and Zuko can’t resist moving forward to give him a quick kiss. Sokka chases his lips when he pulls away, but Zuko is already getting out of bed. Momo lifts his head with a chirp and follows, immediately rubbing himself against Zuko’s legs. 

“Babe,” Sokka whines, “I thought the point of us taking work off was so that we could cuddle in bed all day?”

“I need to get started on your anniversary breakfast. We’ll have time to be lazy together later.” He picks up his sweatpants and one of Sokka’s shirts from the floor and pulls them on, and then he glances back at Sokka to see him sitting up and giving Zuko puppy dog eyes. No, Zuko thinks, those are kitty cat eyes. Much cuter than a puppy dog. His bottom lip is sticking out in a pout and Zuko’s chest tightens. 

He sighs, but he can’t hold back his smile. “Five more minutes. Don’t say I didn’t get you anything.”

Sokka’s entire expression lights up and as soon as Zuko gets back in bed, Sokka grabs him by the front of his shirt to pull him in for a kiss. 

Fifteen minutes later, Zuko steps into the kitchen, Momo following close behind until he sees Aang on the living room couch and decides to take up residence on his lap. 

“Hey there, Momo,” Aang greets cheerily. “Did he sleep with you guys again last night?”

“He must have, he was there when we woke up,” Zuko says. 

“I’m not sure who enjoys you staying the night more, you or him,” Aang grins. 

Zuko laughs. “I’m not sure who I’m most excited to spend time with when I’m here, him or Sokka.”

“Hey! I can hear you!” Sokka’s voice calls from his room. 

Aang snickers and Zuko starts pulling out food from the fridge. “Do you want me to make you something while I’m using the kitchen?”

“Thanks, but I’m about to meet Katara for breakfast before work. As soon as Momo stops being irresistibly cute.”

Zuko looks at where Momo is leaning his head into the scratches that Aang is giving him. “You’ll be stuck here for eternity waiting for that.”

“I guess you’re right,” Aang sighs, gently lifting Momo and placing him on the empty couch cushion. “You two have fun, I’ll see you later!”

“Bye,” Zuko says, and Sokka calls out a “bye!” from his room. 

“Well, I thought he’d never leave,” Sokka says, appearing in the kitchen moments after the front door closes, still shirtless. 

Zuko narrows his eyes. “You’re really going to have to tone down the Tangled references. You’re distracting me.”

“It’s what I do best,” Sokka winks. 

* * *

“Sokka, is this really necessary?”

“Shh, of course it is, it has to be a surprise!”

“I’m 99% sure I know where we’re going.”

“But there is 1% of doubt?”

“1% chance you’ll take me somewhere else to throw me off and then take me to where I think we’re going immediately after that.”

“Damn, I should’ve thought of that.” Sokka has been leading Zuko with an arm around his shoulders but now he stops them both and stands behind Zuko. “Alright, I’m taking off your blindfold now...drumroll please…”

Zuko smiles as the blindfold is pulled away and he’s met with the all too familiar sight of the cat café. 

“Ta da!” Sokka says, stepping in front of Zuko to wave his arms in front of the window. 

Zuko smiles at his adorable boyfriend, a swelling in his chest that warms him all over. “Do you want me to pretend to be surprised?”

“Yes, that would be kind of you,” Sokka nods. 

“Wow, Sokka, the cat café? The place where you first asked me to be your boyfriend? I never would’ve thought that you would take me here on our first year anniversary, not after going here every month for all our other anniversaries leading up until now.”

“Stellar performance, babe, you convinced me.” Sokka rolls his eyes with a smile. “Now are you going to stand there looking pretty all day or do you want to stand in there and look pretty while surrounded by cats?”

Zuko steps forward as an answer and Sokka opens the door for him, following him inside. 

The owner smiles at them from her desk as they enter. They learned her name was Jin after purchasing a membership to the cat café soon after they started dating, and since then she has known to expect them at least once a week.

“There you are! The cats have been waiting so patiently,” she beams. She hands each of them a bag of treats and stands up to let them in the cat room. 

Unsurprisingly, they are the only two people in the café on a Wednesday morning. Zuko feels Sokka’s eyes on him as he takes in the sight of the cats. A lot has changed in the past year since their first visit. There are fancier cat towers, more toys, and a growing wall of pictures of cats that have been adopted from the café posing with their new owners. Every time they come they look to see which cats are still in the café and which ones have been taken home by the patrons. Sokka denied it, but Zuko knows that he cried when they came to find that Momo was gone. He cried even more when they returned to his apartment and discovered that Aang and Katara had decided to adopt him after being invited to a double date at the café.

Zuko is searching for a certain cat, his stomach churning with nervousness, and he lets out a sigh of relief when he spots the familiar tortoiseshell cat sleeping on a sunny spot on the floor. 

Druk lifts his head up as Zuko approaches, letting out a soft meow that melts his heart, and Zuko kneels beside him and starts petting him. Druk is an older rescue cat that came to the café a month or two ago. Zuko had been entertaining a young calico when Sokka had approached him, holding Druk like a baby and saying, “Look! You match!”

Zuko had looked up to see that the cat Sokka was cradling had a scar instead of a left eye, and he immediately reached out his hands to hold it. The cat was sweet, and Zuko spent the rest of their time that day holding him and giving him attention. Druk didn’t care much for playing and therefore avoided the energetic young kittens, but Zuko was more than happy to just snuggle with the lovable creature.

He lies down on the ground and faces Druk as he pets him, a soft smile on his face. 

“Yep, that’s my new phone wallpaper.”

Zuko looks up to see Sokka holding his camera above him and Druk, taking several pictures of them. 

“Do you mind? We’re having a moment,” Zuko says pointedly. 

“What happened to me getting to hog all of your love on our anniversary?”

“You’re the one who took me here, now you have to face the consequences.”

“Those being that I get to sit back and watch you interact with the cats and be reminded of why I fell in love with you, and cats, in the first place?”

Zuko pretends that his cheeks aren’t burning. “Yes. Those.”

“Understood.”

Sokka winks at him and then wanders over to some cats that are playing with each other and he grabs a laser pointer and directs it at the ground for them to chase around. Zuko spends the rest of their time lying in front of Druk, thinking for the hundredth time about the possibility of adopting him. As much as he loves cats, Zuko has always been careful not to get too attached. He knows there are many he will only see once, but this is the fourth time he has been here to see Druk and he can’t imagine showing up one day to find that he has been taken by someone else. He has his worries and reservations about adopting, but Sokka says he will regret it if he doesn’t do it. He knows that Sokka, as usual, is right, but it’s still hard to get over his hesitation about being a good cat parent for Druk.

Some other sleepy cats find their way toward the sunny area until Zuko is lying in the sun with three cats surrounding him, and he can’t stop smiling, focusing on them rather than the possibility of saying his last goodbye to Druk. As much as he wants to stay there forever, eventually he sits up, knowing that Sokka never initiates their goodbyes from the cats. 

“Alright, I’ve had my fill of cats for the day,” he says. “Shall we?”

“Yes, I’m ready. Grab Druk and let’s go.”

Zuko gives the cat, who is watching him with one eye like he doesn’t want Zuko to leave, one last wistful look. He sighs quietly. “Haha. Bye, Druk.”

He walks toward Sokka, but Sokka is staring at him expectantly. 

“What?” Zuko asks, glancing over to see if he dropped anything. 

“I was being serious,” Sokka says, briefly biting his lips to hold back his smile. “Grab Druk and let’s go.”

“Sokka, we can’t just-“ Zuko is interrupted by Jin walking in with a cat carrier, beaming. 

“Are you two ready?” she asks. 

Zuko frowns, turning to Sokka, who is now smiling widely. Zuko doesn’t want to get his hopes up, but…

“What’s going on, Sokka?” he asks, and Sokka grabs his hand. 

“We adopted Druk, baby, that’s what’s going on,” he answers. 

Zuko is speechless as Jin, as if on cue, hands him the adoption certificate, with his, Sokka’s, and Druk’s names on it. 

“You didn’t,” he whispers, almost reverently, as he stares at the certificate. 

“I did,” Sokka confirms gleefully. “Happy anniversary, babe.” 

Zuko doesn’t want to crush the certificate, and luckily Jin is ready to grab it and step to the side as Zuko hands it to her and then throws his arms around Sokka, holding him tightly. 

“This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me,” he says, voice shaking. Sokka holds him closely, laughing softly. 

Zuko goes over and picks up Druk, petting him softly before gently and quickly putting him in the cat carrier. Jin gives them their paperwork and they leave, Zuko carrying Druk’s carrier in his arms. 

Somehow he manages to make it to the car and put the carrier in his lap before he grabs Sokka by the back of the neck and pulls him in for a kiss. He’s overly enthusiastic, he’s smiling too much, and their teeth clash a little painfully, but Sokka doesn’t seem to mind as he pulls back and smiles at his boyfriend. 

“I love you,” Zuko says, not fighting back the tears as his heart feels close to bursting with all his emotions, surprise and excitement and so much love for this man who knows him so well. 

“I love you too.” Sokka turns on the car and blinks quickly as he directs his attention to the road. “Stop crying, you’re going to make  _ me  _ cry.” 

Zuko laughs wetly and grabs Sokka’s hand, the other one holding the top of the cat carrier. Druk meows a few times during the car ride and to Sokka’s delight, Zuko starts talking to him in his usual baby voice to soothe him. 

When they arrive at Zuko’s apartment, Sokka helps him and Druk out of the car and he pulls out his spare key to open the apartment door. Zuko gasps as he walks in and sees the coffee table covered with bags of cat treats and food, a water bowl, and a litter box. 

“How did you-?”

“I have my ways,” Sokka winks, “And you have some friends who are willing to help surprise you.”

They let Druk out and he starts to curiously explore his new space, giving the toys scattered on the floor a curious bat before moving on to keep sniffing. 

“So, was your plan to give me this cat and leave me to take care of it all by myself?” Zuko smirks, leaning against the wall. “Or do you want to strike up some shared custody deal?”

“That’s the other thing I wanted to bring up.” Sokka takes a deep breath, not meeting Zuko’s eyes but rather focusing on a spot near his right shoulder. “It’s just that, well, my lease is ending in a few months, and Aang is going to move out to get an apartment with Katara, so I was thinking...maybe, if you wanted, we could, you know…”

“Are you asking to move in with me?” Zuko asks, hope squeezing his chest tightly. 

Sokka finally looks up at Zuko, his eyes showing how vulnerable he feels as he nods. Zuko is once again tempted to make a comparison to a cat’s eyes but he is too busy jumping into Sokka’s arms for that right now. 

Sokka catches him easily, holding Zuko by the waist, and Zuko knows he isn’t imagining the way that Sokka’s hands are shaking slightly.

He pulls back from the hug, his hands on both of Sokka’s cheeks as he leans their foreheads together. “Were you nervous about asking to move in together?”

Sokka laughs. “Well, I still kind of am, considering you haven’t officially given me an answer.” 

It never fails to surprise Zuko that he can make Sokka nervous. Beautiful, smart, wonderful Sokka. Just thinking about him is enough to fill his stomach with butterflies, so standing here in his arms makes him almost dizzy with happiness. He closes the distance between them for a moment, giving him a kiss just because he can. 

He thinks about where they were a year ago at the cat café, when Sokka had grabbed his hand and they walked inside and for the first time, Zuko was in that room completely distracted by something that wasn’t on four legs. Sokka had looked nervous then, too, but the more time they spent with the cats, the more he relaxed, staying by Zuko’s side and watching Momo as he started what sounded like a well rehearsed speech. 

“You know, it’s not just the cats that make me want to come here so often.”

“It’s not?”

“Nah, it’s the company. The more we come here the more I find myself staring at you playing with the cats and I’m unable to look away. And Katara and Aang helped me realize that you like cats so much because you practically are one. And that’s why I like cats now. Because they remind me of you. And I like you. Romantically.”

They had only been going to the cat cafe for two weeks at that point so Zuko had honestly not yet tailored his usual fantasy of finally kissing Sokka to fit the setting. But it was still perfect as he grabbed Sokka by the shirt and pulled him forward into their first kiss of many. 

“That means I like you too. Romantically.”

Sokka had had the same apprehension back then as he does now, watching Zuko closely but never taking back his words, his heart on his sleeve and waiting hopefully for a positive reaction.

“My answer is yes,” he says, and Sokka’s eyes light up. “Of course I want to live with you, Sokka. You can move in here with me and Druk, and we’ll be the best cat dads that he could possibly ask for.” 

“Damn right,” Sokka says, giving him a quick kiss. “We’re going to spoil him rotten, and then one day he’ll get a sibling...” he trails off suspiciously, and Zuko narrows his eyes. 

“We are not getting a dog.”

“I’m not worried, babe. I know I’ll change your mind one day,” Sokka grins. 

“I’m serious, Sokka, no dogs,” Zuko says sternly. “I will never be a dog person.”

“I never thought I would be a cat person, but look at me now,” Sokka says. “I’m about to move in with my two favorite cats in the world.”

“I know you didn’t just count me as one of your favorite cats in the world.”

“The similarities are simply undeniable, babe.”

As if to prove his point, Sokka leads him by the hand to the couch and pulls Zuko into his lap and Zuko melts into his arms. He rests his head against Sokka’s chest and listens to his heartbeat, steady and sure. 

He moves his head up to kiss Sokka on the lips, and then pulls back to look him in the eyes, feeling so incredibly grateful and content.

“What?” Sokka asks, smiling. 

Zuko has never ever been able to imagine himself living with a dog. Spending the night at Sokka’s apartment on occasion and interacting with Appa was already asking a lot of him. But as he feels Sokka’s arms around him, he knows. He knows Sokka could pull out those kitty cat eyes - fine, okay,  _ puppy dog eyes _ \- and Zuko would say yes to one dog, or one hundred dogs, and he would be happy. 

As long as he is with Sokka, he is happy. 

“I’m happy,” Zuko responds simply. 

Sokka rests his forehead against Zuko’s, before he moves back with an excited light in his eyes. “So, what did you get me for our anniversary?”

Zuko’s smile widens, thinking of the wrapped present waiting on his desk, of the journal where he has written a poem about them or about Sokka every single day for the past 365 days. 

“You have to promise not to cry,” he says as he gets up and heads toward his room, already knowing his request is a lost cause. 

As he leaves he spots Druk sniffing around the hallway, and after grabbing the present he scoops up their cat in his other arm and returns to the couch, sitting closely to Sokka and beaming as Druk settles comfortably on his lap, stretching out so his paws reach rest on Sokka’s thigh. Sokka smiles at the cat and strokes the top of his head with one hand and throws his other arm around Zuko’s shoulders to pull him into his side.

Zuko puts the present aside and pulls out his phone to open the camera. Sokka picks up on what he is doing and takes it from him, holding it up high to get a few selfies of the three of them from above and kissing his boyfriend’s cheek in some of them.

Zuko takes the phone back and smiles as they look at the results, feeling so full of love for his small, but perfect, family. 

“Yeah, that’s my new wallpaper,” he says, blinking away his tears.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think ;)
> 
> [tumblr!](http://www.bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com)


End file.
